1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to adjustable hinges and more particularly relates to adjustable hinges and self-closing adjustable hinges that are adjustable in multiple directions.
2. Discussion of the Background
Furniture, such as cabinets or the like, generally must be individually adjusted to compensate for unavoidable manufacturing tolerances. Such adjustment is generally required in two or more dimensions, and if the door has two or more hinges as is usually the case, must be carried out on each hinge with respect to the other hinges. Hinges today generally suffer from various disadvantages including difficulty of installation, undesirable correlation between adjustments in different directions which require multiple readjustments in small increments, coordination of these adjustments collectively with respect to the other hinges, complex construction and correspondingly high manufacturing costs, and instability of the selected adjustments.
Adjustable hinges may but are not required to include self-closing mechanisms. Hinges having self-closing mechanisms are known in the art. For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,290,167; 4,376,324; 4,716,622; 5,027,474; and 5,617,612 each disclose hinges having a self-closing mechanism. These references are incorporated by reference herein.
Hinges are commonly manufactured with connecting parts of two lengths. The first connecting part length is approximately 65 millimeters and is commonly known as a “long arm.” The second connecting part length is approximately 36 millimeters and is commonly known as a “short arm.” Today, short arm hinges require a gap of at least 5 millimeters between connected pieces of furniture, such as between a door and a frame, in a closed position.
Thus, as noted above, there currently exists numerous deficiencies in the adjustable hinges that are known in the prior art.